Staff Reporter
ITANAGAR, 2 Sep: Throwing its weight behind Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, the Arunachal Pradesh Congress Committee (APCC) on Wednesday staged a massive peaceful protest march against the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led Narendra Modi government.
The APCC termed the FIR registered against Gandhi as an attempt by the BJP-RSS to intimidate the Leader of Opposition for raising his voice against an alleged discriminatory and casteist "purification" ritual carried out by BJP-RSS workers at Haldwani in Uttarakhand on 10 August 2026.
Gandhi had publicly demanded an FIR against those responsible, including action under the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, describing the alleged "Shuddhikaran" incident as an example of untouchability and discrimination.
The APCC protest march witnessed the participation of Congress leaders, senior office-bearers, frontal organisations, elected representatives, party workers and supporters, who raised their collective voice against casteism, untouchability, discrimination, political vendetta and the alleged misuse of state machinery against opposition leaders.
The peaceful rally started from Rajiv Gandhi Bhawan in Itanagar and culminated at V-Mart, opposite the Civil Secretariat.
"Today our rally is against the casteist, discriminatory and untouchable mindset of the BJP, RSS and Ram Sena activists. It is sickening to see such discriminatory practices in India, that too in 2026," said APCC vice president Toko Mina.
"When this casteist and untouchable treatment was meted out to Mallikarjun Kharge after his rally, Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi raised his voice against it and demanded strict action against those responsible. Instead of taking action, an FIR was registered against Rahul Gandhi, which is highly condemnable," Mina added, demanding an apology from the BJP.
The APCC demanded the immediate withdrawal of what it termed a "politically motivated and malicious" FIR against Rahul Gandhi. It also called for an FIR to be registered against those allegedly involved in carrying out the "purification" ritual and for an impartial investigation into the incident.
The Pradesh Congress further demanded that the Uttarakhand authorities register an appropriate FIR against those responsible for the alleged purification ritual and conduct a fair, impartial and time-bound investigation, irrespective of political affiliation.
Condemning the alleged purification ritual, the Congress called for an end to casteism and discrimination against Dalits, tribals and minorities, and urged that practices of untouchability should neither be encouraged nor promoted.
The Congress further demanded an impartial investigation and appropriate action if the investigation establishes that an offence was committed.
"Today the issue is Rahul Gandhi Ji. Tomorrow it can be any citizen. Today an opposition leader is being targeted for raising his voice. Tomorrow a student, a journalist, a tribal citizen, a Dalit citizen, or a minority citizen may be targeted," it stated.
The APCC vowed that the Congress party would not be intimidated or silenced by the BJP or the Modi government. It reiterated that the Congress would never accept casteism or untouchability and would defend the Constitution at any cost.
